Given name & surname · also Japanese
Mina
“woman from the South”·“one who is greatly loved”
Mina is used as a given name and a surname. Interpretations include “woman from the South” and “one who is greatly loved”. These belong to different or overlapping naming contexts.
Original Japanese美娜
Meaning & origin
What it means
Interpretations include “woman from the South” and “one who is greatly loved”. These belong to different or overlapping naming contexts.
Where it comes from
This spelling has been associated with Japanese and German naming traditions.
How it developed
In Scottish use, Mina is used as a shortened form of Calumina.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1880. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Mina through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 19,939
- 672 boys · 19,267 girls
- Most popular year
- 2021
- 523 babies
- 2025
- 506
- #597 for girls · #6,051 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +15%
- Rising
Boys, girls and both
The balance of boys and girls given this name has shifted over time. Recent births are 3% boys.
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 491 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 597 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 16.6% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. It also appeared in 15 birth records for boys in 2025. In 2025, California had the largest reported state-level birth count for girls with this name (86). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 19,867 as a first name in 2020; 3,383 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Mina’s family of names
In English usage, Mina has a diminutive in Minnie. In Spanish usage, Mina has a later derivative in MINERO. Mina has a related form in Min.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Mina has relatives in 8 languages. Lines run from its German roots to each of them.
Germanwhere Mina comes from · 1 name
Nicknames & forms 12
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
- Minevariant · German
- Wilhelminafull form · Norwegian
- Minniediminutive · English
- Meenavariant · English
- Minnavariant
- Minahvariant · English
- Minnettevariant
- Minettevariant
Show 4 moreShow fewer
Spellings & scripts 7
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 16
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
See also 2
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Mina
- MinaItalian singer (born 1940)
- Mina TanakaJapanese association football playerborn 1994
- Meena Keshwar KamalAfghan activist (1956–1987)
- Mina WitkojcSorbian poet (1893–1975)
- Mina Ahadihuman rights activistborn 1956
- Mina El HammaniSpanish actressborn 1993
- Mina LoyBritish writer, poet, playwright, novelist, painter, designer of lamps (1882-1966)
- Mina SundwallAmerican actressborn 2001
- Mina PopovićSerbian volleyball playerborn 1994
Characters named Mina: Mina Harker (Bram Stoker's Dracula).
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Mina, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Matilda
“one who is mighty in battle”
>99% girls
Amaya
“of the night rain”
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Lorelai
Lorelai is a feminine given name from German.
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Adaline
“of the nobility; serene; of good humor”
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Adelaide
“noble” · “kind”
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Lorelei
“murmuring rock or lurking rock”
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Emery
“the work ruler; the strength of home”
10% boys · 90% girls
Quinn
“woman who is queenly” · “one who provides counsel; an intelligent man”
20% boys · 80% girls